Sambhal violence: Posters of 'stone pelters' to be put up, protesters to pay for damage to property

Uttar Pradesh government on Wednesday said that the protesters involved in Sambhal violence will be made to pay for the damages.

Violence broke out in the town of Sambhal on Sunday after a confrontation erupted over a court-ordered survey of the city's Shahi Jama Masjid in Kot Garvi area, following a petition claiming that a Harihar temple once stood at the site. The violence claimed the lives of four people.

District officials in Sambhal said that the posters of ='stone pelters' would also be put up at public places. ''Reward may also be declared on the protesters who are absconding,'' said a senior official in Sambhal.

UP minister Narendr Kashyap said that the government would take stern action against those behind the violence. ''Rioting will not be tolerated....giving justice is the priority of the government,'' he added.

Dharmveer Bharti, who was the minister in-charge of the district, said that the violence was ''part of a well planned conspiracy to malign the state government''.

The district officials said that the names of three minors had cropped up in connection with Sunday's violence. ''We are counselling them,'' said an official. He said that the police would register FIRs if the families of the deceased so desired.

The officials said that if needed, NSA would be slapped on the troublemakers.

Four persons were killed and several others, including cops, injured when a mob pelted stones and torched vehicles in the town, about 400 kilometres from here, on Sunday during a court ordered survey of a famous mosque after some Hindu plaintiffs claimed that the mosque had been constructed after demolishing a temple during the Mughal period.